Gundam Wing Fan Fiction / Mobile Suit Gundam Fan Fiction / Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ Mobile Suit Gundam Tournament ❯ Level 1, Match 03 ( Chapter 5 )

Episode 05

Level 1, Match 03

Written By
Mark Moore

Author's note: I'm sorry for the delay. I'm going to try to get the series back on schedule. Enjoy the story. Feedback is welcome.

Sayla Mass has scored her first victory, defeating Kuwait and keeping the United Kingdom in the tournament. Now, attention shifts to the next match.

October 2, 2007, 4:52 PM, Eastern Daylight Time

The United States military base where the Gundam was being tested was Aznable Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida. The Gundam was in a hangar.

Lunamaria Hawke, the Gundam's test pilot, was sitting in the cockpit, which was located in the Gundam's chest area.

Emma Sheen stood on the platform adjacent to the cockpit, watching Lunamaria. Standing at consoles on the platform were Nina Purpleton and Lucette Audevie, the two engineers that had designed the Gundam for the United States Government. They worked for Anaheim Electronics and were currently under military command while on this project. The fourth person on the platform was Relena Peacecraft. She was interested in the proceedings but was primarily there to give moral support to Emma.

"Okay, raise the right arm."

At Nina's request, Lunamaria pulled the lever on her console that controlled the right arm. The arm slowly rose up until it was pointing straight up.

Nina smiled. "Good. Now, make a fist."

Lunamaria pressed the right fist button. The Gundam's right hand closed into a fist.

Nina nodded. "Good! Now, lift the right leg."

Lunamaria pressed the right leg button. Nothing happened.

"The leg's not responding. It might be a glitch in the code revisions that we recently put in."

Nina nodded. "Agreed, Lucette. Power down, Lunamaria."

Lunamaria opened the Gundam's hand, lowered its arm, and shut off the Gundam. The blue glow in the Gundam's eyes disappeared.

Lunamaria got out of the cockpit.

Nina looked at Emma. "We'll get to work on the glitch."

"Will you have it fixed by tomorrow morning?" Emma asked her.

"We should. We'll be working throughout the night."

Murrue Ramius, Emma's superior officer, walked into the hangar.

Emma and Lunamaria saluted her. "Captain!"

"At ease. How's the Gundam coming along, Nina?"

"We have a glitch in the code, mostly likely. The right leg won't lift. Lucette and I are going to work on it tonight."

"I guess you were so caught up in your work that you forgot about the time. Match 03 is going to start soon. Take a break. You can work on the glitch a bit later."

Nina smiled. "Thanks for reminding us. Let's go to my house to watch it. I'll cook dinner."

Murrue smiled. "Sounds good."

Emma, Relena, Murrue, and Lunamaria gathered in the living room in Nina and Lucette's house and took their seats.

Nina and Lucette, each carrying a tray with three large glasses filled with cola, walked into the living room. The other four women each took a glass. Nina and Lucette set the trays on the table, each took a glass, and sat down.

Nina turned on the television.

"Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to Level 1, Match 03, of the First Gundam Tournament. We're here live in Ölüdeniz in the Turkish Riviera. Allow me to introduce myself to those of you watching at home. My name is Bright Noa. I am the commentator for this tournament. Today's match is Turkey versus Poland. The Turkish pilot is Recep Toptan. The Polish pilot is Lech Marcinkiewicz. Turkey's Gundam - the light grey one - is 16 meters tall, 1 meter of which is taken up by the head. It is armed with a beam rifle. Poland's Gundam - the red one - is 17 meters tall, 1 meter of which is taken up by the head. It is armed with a beam rifle. The match is about to begin."

Turkey's Gundam was colored a light grey. Poland's Gundam was colored red.

"Fight!" a simulated male voice declared over a speaker.

Recep moved his Gundam forward and punched Poland's Gundam with its right fist. Poland's Gundam was knocked back a bit.

Lech made his Gundam jump into the air, then he fired at Turkey's Gundam with the beam rifle in its left hand. The shots hit Turkey's Gundam repeatedly.

Recep fired at Poland's Gundam repeatedly with the beam rifle in his Gundam's left hand. The shots hit Poland's Gundam repeatedly.

"Overheating!" the simulated male voice of Poland's Gundam declared.

"Take that!" Recep yelled.

"Take this!" Lech yelled.

Lech fired his Gundam's beam rifle repeatedly, hitting Turkey's Gundam over and over again.

"Overheating!" the simulated male voice of Turkey's Gundam declared.

"You won't do that again!" Recep exclaimed.

Recep kicked Poland's Gundam two times with his Gundam's right leg.

Lech made his Gundam jump backwards.

Recep fired at Poland's Gundam repeatedly with his Gundam's beam rifle.

"Overheating!" the simulated male voice of Poland's Gundam declared.

Lech kicked Turkey's Gundam repeatedly with his Gundam's left leg.

"Overheating!" the simulated male voice of Turkey's Gundam declared.

Recep fired his Gundam's beam rifle. Lech activated his Gundam's thrusters and flew his Gundam into the sky, dodging the blast.

Lech fired his Gundam's beam rifle repeatedly at Turkey's Gundam, hitting it repeatedly.

"Checkmate!" the simulated male voice of Turkey's Gundam declared.

Recep's Gundam fell backwards.

"Well done! Glory to the winner!" the simulated male voice declared over a speaker.

"La'anatullah!" Recep exclaimed.

"And there you have it. Poland has beaten Turkey. It certainly was a close match, and Poland's win could be considered only luck. Turkey is out of the competition, but it is allowed to assist another nation of its choice. Poland moves on to Level 2. There will be more coverage on your evening news. Thank you for joining us."

Nina turned off the television.

"We've got some time before the evening news begins. I'll make dinner now." Nina stood up.

Lucette stood up. "I'll help you."

Nina and Lucette collected the empty glasses, placed them on the trays, and carried them into the kitchen.

Nina placed twelve pieces of chicken on a pan. Lucette opened the oven door. Nina placed the pan on an oven rack. Lucette closed the door and set the temperature.

Lucette quickly washed the glasses and set them to dry.

The women walked back into the living room.

They took their seats.

The evening news came on.

Peter Jenkins, the lead anchor, was sitting at his desk in New York City.

"Good evening, everyone. The third match of the first level of the First Gundam Tournament was held in Ölüdeniz in the Turkish Riviera this afternoon. The participants were Turkey and Poland. Poland won. It will move on to Level 2. Turkey, meanwhile, having been eliminated from the tournament, has announced today that it will back Jordan in the tournament. Kuwait, which had been eliminated in match 01 and had been backing Turkey, will back Jordan as well. We turn to our White House correspondent, Donald Samuelson. Donald, how is the White House reacting to Poland's victory and Turkey's defeat?"

"Peter, Turkey was officially a friendly competitor of the U.S., but, secretly, the White House is happy that Poland, the more democratic of the two nations, won."

"Do the resources of Jordan, Turkey, and Kuwait match those of the United States?"

"It's possible, Peter, but it's still difficult to say. We have to see Jordan's Gundam first. We really don't know what we're up against."

"All right. Donald Samuelson, many thanks. Now for the day's other news."

Nina turned off the television.

"Dinner should be ready." Nina stood up.

The rest of the women stood up as well.

Nina opened the oven and took out the pan. She placed it on the stove.

Each woman took two chicken legs and placed them on her own plate.

Lucette added mashed potatoes on each plate and then poured gravy on it.

The women took the plates to the table, sat down, and started eating.

"What do you think of the match?" Murrue asked.

Emma swallowed a piece of chicken. "Poland did okay, but it was close."

Relena swallowed a piece of chicken. "Lech Marcinkiewicz will have to practice and do a lot better next time."

Lunamaria smiled. "I think it was just dumb luck. Poland will be eliminated in Level 2."

Murrue smiled in amusement. "You seem confident."

Nina looked at Lucette. "It's Turkey's Gundam that I'm concerned about. It's actually pretty impressive. If they hand it over to Jordan to analyze, Jordan's resulting Gundam could be a real challenge to us."

Lucette considered that for a moment. "Maybe, but we haven't seen Jordan's Gundam yet. Maybe it's crap."

Murrue frowned. "We better play it safe. Once we finish dinner, let's go back to base and run some simulations."

The women entered the simulation room in the base.

Emma got into the simulator. "Okay, I'm ready."

Murrue made some selections on the computer console. "Using the battle data that was sent to us from the today's match, I'm going to program the drone to be a combination of our, Australia's, Niger's, Kuwait's, the United Kingdom's, Turkey's, and Poland's Gundams. If you can beat this, it won't be a guarantee of victory in your first match, but it should boost your confidence. Okay, try this."

The screens inside the simulator turned on. They displayed a city street at night. Skyscrapers appeared to Emma's left. The drone appeared in front of her.

"Fight!" the simulator's male voice declared.

Emma moved her Gundam forward. She swung the left arm at the drone. The drone jumped and avoided the attack. Emma jumped and fired her beam rifle. The blasts hit the drone repeatedly. Emma then kicked the drone three times with her Gundam's right leg.

"Overheating!"

Emma knew that she had caused damage to the drone. She activated her Gundam's thrusters and flew the Gundam into the sky. She fired at the drone with her beam rifle.

"Not enough power!"

Emma's Gundam landed back on the street. The Gundam didn't have enough power for long flights and had to recharge.

The drone came at Emma and kicked her Gundam five times with its left leg. Emma punched the drone three times with her Gundam's right fist. Then she kicked it six times with her Gundam's right leg.

"Overheating!"

Emma knew that she was close to victory. She kicked the drone ten times with her Gundam's right leg.

"Checkmate!"

The drone fell down.

"Well done! Glory to the winner!"

The simulation ended. The screens went black.

Emma got out of the simulator.

Murrue smiled. "Pretty good, Emma."

Nina looked at the statistics on her screen. "Your reflexes are pretty good."

Lucette looked at the statistics as well. "So is your strategy."

Emma walked over to them. "I don't know. All that it proves is that I can defeat Australia's, Niger's, Kuwait's, and the United Kingdom's Gundams."

Relena frowned. "She's right. Who knows what the other nations have?"

Lunamaria gave Emma a cheerful smile. "Don't worry, Emma. The real thing feels just like the simulator. I think you'll be able to use our Gundam to its full potential."

Emma smiled at her. "I wish I was as confident."

Nina sighed. "Well, I guess we better go and work on that software glitch. Go and get some energy drinks for us, Lucette. It looks like we'll be working all night."

"Right. I'll be back in a bit."

Mobile Suit Gundam Tournament

Mobile Suit Gundam Tournament

In Paris, France, Reccoa Londe and Stella Loussier sped down a highway in Reccoa's red convertible. They were listening to "Si Demain (Turn Around)" by Bonnie Tyler and Kareen Antonn on the radio.

After driving for a few minutes, Reccoa turned right onto another street.

A few minutes later, they reached Le Creuset Armée de l'Air Base.

Reccoa brought her car to a stop by the gate. She handed her badge to the security guard, and Stella did likewise with her visitor's pass. The guard scanned them and handed them back. Then Reccoa had to go through a thumbprint and retinal scan. Finally, the security guard opened the gate, and Reccoa drove onto the base.

Reccoa drove to a hangar and parked outside of it.

Reccoa and Stella got out of the car and walked into the hangar.

Soon, they arrived at the Gundam.

The Gundam, which was a humanoid-looking mecha, stood 19.6 meters tall, 1.1 meters of which were taken up by the head. An elevator was set up to take people up to various levels of the Gundam. There were also metal platforms set up for people to walk on.

Une Antonn, Reccoa's superior officer, walked over to them. She had long, dark brown hair, which she wore loose.

Reccoa saluted Une. "Lieutenant Reccoa Londe reporting as ordered, sir."

Stella saluted Une. "Lieutenant Stella Loussier reporting as ordered, sir."

Une saluted Reccoa and Stella. "At ease."

Reccoa and Stella relaxed.

"How's the Gundam coming along?" Reccoa asked.

"Well enough. It'll be ready in time. The question is...will you be ready?"

"I believe so."

"Stella, I want you working on the Gundam. I'll do the test piloting. Reccoa, I want you in the simulator. We'll meet you there when we're done."

"Yes, sir. See you, Stella."

"See you, Reccoa."

Une and Stella walked into the elevator and rode up to the chest area. They walked out of the elevator.

Stella turned on the computers on her console. "Okay, get inside."

Une walked over to the Gundam's cockpit, which was located in the chest area, and opened the cockpit.

Une got into the cockpit.

The women entered the simulation room in another building on the base.

Reccoa got into the simulator. "Okay, I'm ready."

Une made some selections on the computer console. "Using the battle data that was sent to us from the today's match, I'm going to program the drone to be a combination of our, Australia's, Niger's, Kuwait's, the United Kingdom's, Turkey's, and Poland's Gundams. If you can beat this, it won't be a guarantee of victory in your first match, but it should boost your confidence. Okay, try this."

The screens inside the simulator turned on. They displayed a city street at night. Skyscrapers appeared to Reccoa's left. A drone appeared in front of her.

"Fight!" the simulator's male voice declared.

Reccoa moved her Gundam forward. She swung the left arm at the drone. The drone jumped and avoided the attack. Reccoa jumped and swung her beam saber. It hit the drone repeatedly. Reccoa then kicked the drone three times with her Gundam's right leg.

"Overheating!"

Reccoa knew that she had caused damage to the drone.

The drone fired at Reccoa's Gundam with its beam rifle.

Reccoa activated her Gundam's thrusters and flew the Gundam into the sky.

"Not enough power!"

Reccoa's Gundam landed back on the street. The Gundam didn't have enough power for long flights and had to recharge.

The drone came at Emma and kicked her Gundam five times with its left leg. Reccoa punched the drone three times with her Gundam's right fist. Then she kicked it six times with her Gundam's right leg.

"Overheating!"

Reccoa knew that she was close to victory.

However, before she could launch another attack, the drone kicked her Gundam five times with its left leg.

"Ugh!" Reccoa punched the drone once with her Gundam's right fist.

The drone fired at Reccoa's Gundam repeatedly with its beam rifle.

"Overheating!"

"Merde!" Reccoa exclaimed.

The drone punched Reccoa's Gundam five times with its left fist.

"Get out of there!" Une yelled.

Reccoa activated her Gundam's thrusters and flew her Gundam into the sky.

Reccoa got ready to swing her beam saber.

However, as she swung, the drone fired its beam rifle repeatedly at Reccoa's Gundam.

"Checkmate!"

Reccoa's Gundam fell and landed on the street.

"Well done! Glory to the winner!"

The simulation ended. The screens went black.

Reccoa clenched her hands into fists and pounded her console. "Merde!"

"Come out here, Reccoa."

Une didn't sound happy to Reccoa.

Reccoa got out of the simulator.

"Come over here."

Reccoa walked over to Une and Stella.

Une frowned. "What happened?"

"I don't know, sir."

Stella looked at the statistics on her screen. "Your reflexes are pretty pathetic. Uh, that's just my official observation, of course."

Reccoa sighed. "You don't have to justify what you said. It's the truth. This simulation proves that I won't win. I can't defeat a combination of our, Australia's, Niger's, Kuwait's, the United Kingdom's, Turkey's, and Poland's Gundams - to say nothing of what Iraq might have."

Stella smiled. "C'mon, it's Iraq. There's no way that their technology is better than ours."

"It's not their technology that I'm worried about. It's their pilot. He's gotta be better than me."

Une gave Reccoa a cheerful smile. "Don't worry, Reccoa. The real thing feels just like the simulator. If you can beat the simulator, I think you'll be able to use our Gundam to its full potential."

Reccoa smiled at her. "I wish I was as confident."

"You just have to practice. That's what I want you to do between now and the match. Practice, practice, practice!"

"Yes, sir."

"However, I have another task for you at the moment. I want you to talk with the Iraqi pilot and have him agree to have the match here in France?"

"Why, sir?"

"In case you haven't noticed, the government did not assign a high priority to this tournament. We don't have a large budget. I'm the team captain and also the test pilot. Pathetic, no?"

"Pathetic, yes."

"Exactly. Having the match in France will save us a lot of money and manpower."

"I'll do my best to convince him, sir."

"Excellent. I will set up the telephone call immediately."

Une was sitting at her desk in her office. Reccoa was sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the desk.

"Hello?" a voice coming from Une's speakerphone asked.

"Is this Jalal al-Maliki?" Reccoa asked.

"Yes, this is Jalal al-Maliki."

"This is Reccoa Londe, the Gundam pilot from France."

"Oh, hello."

"Hello. I'm calling to set the location for our match."

"Oh, yes. Okay."

"I would like to have it in France."

"France? Why not in Iraq?"

"Well, we don't have a large budget, and we need to save money."

Une gave Reccoa a sharp glance.

"Very well. What is the exact location?"

"Paris - in front of the Eiffel Tower."

"I will be there."

"Thank you."

"Yes. Have a good day."

"You, too."

Jalal al-Maliki hung up.

Une turned off her speakerphone.

"What's the matter with you?" Une asked Reccoa. "You let him know that we don't have a large budget."

"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. However, maybe he'll become overconfident and underestimate us."

"What's there to underestimate?"

Reccoa clenched her hands into fists. "Take that back."

"No. If you don't want me to talk down to you, then you have to earn my respect."

Reccoa felt as if she was about to cry. "Une."

"While we're on duty, Lieutenant Londe, you will refer to me as 'sir' or 'Capitaine Antonn'. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"You're a good aircraft pilot, Reccoa, but mobile suits are different, and you have yet to prove to me that you can handle it. Did I make a mistake in choosing you for this assignment?"

"No, sir."

"You get frustrated and lose your temper easily. I want you to work on that."

"Yes, sir."

"Dismissed. Go and practice in the sim. I'll see you at home in 3 hours."

Reccoa stood up, walked over to the door, opened it, walked out of Une's office, and closed the door behind her.

Reccoa walked towards the simulation room, all of the while wondering if she should have answered "Yes" to Une's question.

The next match is Russia versus Iran. Most of the world is hoping for Russia to win. Will it happen?

Next on "Mobile Suit Gundam Tournament":

"Level 1, Match 04"

You will race with the tide.